great central

Wilko do pick n mix bags of fixings that including large steel washers. A couple of quid gets loads, best thing about them is with the hole they can be positioned right above the pivot on a bogie vehicle.

A good many years ago when we took Deepcar to Colchester show we wandered around the town in the evening looking for a drink. On entering one pub there were lots of young 'ladies'. Approaching the bar we got a few funny looks and when one of our team asked if they had any type of ale rather than just the lager in display, it soon became obvious that it wasn't the place for a group of various aged railway modellers

To add another dimension to this, the current 'waiting room' at Havenhouse near Skegness used to be the signal box toilet. The station is very little used, might just get two people in the waiting room with no social distancing!

Best one was a few years ago, charter train to Lincoln, I think, booked for steam haulage. The steam loco was failed and the diesel (class 33?) which had brought it so far was left to carry on. Unfortunately this hadn't been allowed for with the fuel in the tanks and it expired in the middle of Lincolnshire. Fortunately a farmer nearby had a tank of fuel handy and sold it to the operator there and then.

I believe it was the collective name for members of Steppenwolf. Also featured in Easy Rider was 'The Pusher' very dark and very much opposite to Born to be wild.

Yes four car between Nottingham and Sheffield still, suppose nobody's thought of reducing it. I've not had passenger numbers in double figures for the last couple of weeks so lots of fresh air being moved. One four car is going to Norwich today I think, cos the universal toilet is faulty on the unit that should work through. We keep sending in passenger counts so maybe it'll get reduced. Rumours persisting of a further service reduction soon, may depend on what's announced later today. If the thought is that lockdown can be eased in, hopefully, 3 weeks I doubt they'd go to the trouble of rejigging everything to then change it again when people are allowed to travel a bit more.

Yep, now we're only going as far as Sheffield instead of through to Liverpool most of our services are running on time. Almost empty it must be said but still carrying some key workers.

Ok, I tried to put in a couple of lightweight positive messages, guess people just wanna go down the doom and gloom route?

Agreed, clear blue skies for several days apart from Sunday late on and yesterday (it was bl***y freezin!) Normally see a lot of vapour trails when it's clear like this, seen two in best part of two weeks. Last week I even heard the plane at however many thousand feet cos it's so quiet!

Right then. Time for a bit of a positive perhaps to put away the doom and gloom for a few minutes. For those of us able to get out, and to others I apologise, there is a bargain for chocoholics. The Tesco express opposite Nottingham Midland station has rather a lot of Easter eggs left. Priced to clear from as little as 18p each. Big ones on sale yesterday for £6 are now £1.50. The price labels are standard ones so quite likely a national price, possibly even available on line. Just watch your waistline P. S. I would have added this to the bargain hunters thread but seems it's been a while since it was used and I couldn't find it on a search.

I've had a long time away from stock cars, started going around 1970 with Long Eaton and once I got a car all over the country til marriage, mortgage and all that called a halt around 1976. Got back into it somewhat around 3 years ago but don't do that many meetings, mainly because I'm at work 2 Saturdays out of 3. Was hoping to do more this year, hopefully won't be too long before we can get out again. For anyone interested it should be live on YouTube, search for BSCDA, likely better than Saturday evening telly.

Talking of stock cars did you look at the e-meet from virtual Mildenhall last week, looked quite good I thought. There's another from virtual Skegness at 6 this evening

The Nottingham ones haven't changed that much apart from the street furniture and vehicles. I drive past the Mansfield road church to and from work. Different businesses in the buildings on the Derby road ones and road layout but again pretty much the same, although I haven't been that way in some time as Alfreton road which I would use is full of speed bumps now.

Crikey tree to layout in the same day. Hope it doesn't warp too much.

Grassroots campaign might be more likely to succeed if the 'grass roots' in, dare I say it, more enlightened countries refused to buy goods manufactured in such places? I haven't liked buying Chinese made goods for many years largely because of their apparent 'ethics and traditions' now I'll do my very best to avoid them altogether. I know it won't be easy but it'll make me feel I may be doing something positive. That will mean no new toy trains but seeing as I've got enough projects for at least two more lifetimes, so long as I get past this 'little problem' as a key worker, it's not going to affect me that much. If this post is deemed unnecessarily provocative can the mods please remove?

That's pretty extreme 'weathering'. Can't help but wonder if the instructions to the driver included 'don't go over any rail joints'

We used well braced chipboard on Deepcar 35 years ago, despite much muttering from the club 'sage'. It's been stored in varying conditions and found itself in some odd situations for an exhibition layout at times. The only problem was in it's early life when having scenery added, we hadn't sealed the ends properly and water from ballasting got into it at a baseboard joint. Suitably repaired it's given no trouble since.

Parked my S reg Jeep Cherokee beside one of the newer countryman versions a while back. Ugly brute and near enough the same size!

Post deleted, talking rubbish as usual

For fans of oval racing there was an online stock car meeting last week. I forgot all about it having gone shopping when there's few queues. The full meeting from a virtual Mildenhall stadium is available on YouTube, just search for BSCDA, that's the British Stock Car Drivers Association.

^^^ I have so say that despite the gargantuan leaves that just looks so right, even got the telegraph pole sticking out of the chimney

From memory and lots of photos, most of the Colwick allocation of 2-8-0s worked chimney first when heading uphill through New Basford towards the pits north of Nottingham. As there were unlikely to be turning facilities they would return downhill with loaded, unfitted coal trains. This would leave the front buffer beam holding back several hundred tons of loaded wagons, which could also be subject to rough stopping and starting. I well remember seeing locos stopped in Victoria setting back slightly onto the train to compress the buffers, no doubt helped by a knowledgeable guard holding his brakes on, before getting a spring assisted take off with lots of banging as the slack was taken up in the couplings. The guard then hanging on tight as his van shot forward! Dare I suggest something else missing from the various models? It seemed to be the practice at Colwick to top the coal up in the tender at every opportunity, even when only doing a relatively short trip, such that the heap was usually well above the height of the cab roof.

Yep, they were a lot bigger with much thicker chocolate as well. Could have demolished this one in one go but didn't.

There's been one hanging around in our kitchen for a while, I ate it yesterday. Milky bars are still available, also as buttons. Our local Sainsbury's has a deli counter where ham, turkey and others are sliced off the bone as you wait. It's closed at the moment so staff can refill shelves, no idea when or if it will reopen.

There's not really much in the way of colour lights even now, from Ancaster to Skegness is almost all semaphores, apart from the Sleaford area which was originally planned to be included with the Lincoln area resignalling. When I took my son to Skegness on the train a couple of times there was a somersault down distant at Hubberts Bridge and an up distant approaching Firsby south junction from Skegness. I'd guess that one lasted until the south junction box was abolished? My son was born in 1980 so reckon it would be probably after 1985 or so.